Morley Primary School Governance Statement March 2018

The Government requires all school governing bodies to have three core strategic functions which apply to Morley Primary School. These are:

1. Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;

2. Hold the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils;

3. Oversee the financial performance of the school and ensure funds are well spent.

Governance arrangements

The Governing Board of Morley Primary School currently consists of:

Three Parent Governors

One Local Authority Governor

One Staff Governor

Two Community Governors

One Associate Governor

The Headteacher

There is currently a vacancy for a parent governor.

Celebrating school successes.

Our focus, as always, remains firmly directed at improving outcomes for all children by delivering high quality teaching and maximising progress and attainment, consistent with the school motto ‘Where everything can be achieved’.

There have been very many successes this year – for pupils, staff and the whole school – and Governors are delighted to acknowledge these and congratulate the school on another fantastic year. Key stage 2 results were the highest we have seen. All pupils reached the expected standard in all subjects; the majority reached the highest standard. More detail with tabulated results are available on the school website https://www.morley.derbyshire.sch.uk/performance-data/.

We are delighted that the school received a letter from the DfE congratulating the school on its performance in the 2017 KS2 assessments. This is particularly pleasing as the assessments were conducted under the new, harder, framework. This is the fourth such letter in the last 5 years. Well done to all pupils, parents and staff.

We were also delighted to learn that the school’s last year's SATs results placed us second out of all 20840 primary schools in England. What an amazing achievement. Well done to everyone - our high standards are a result of everyone's hard work over all the years that children are in our school. Thank you to our wonderful staff who support the children and encourage them by providing the facilities and teaching skills where everything can, and is, being achieved.

The school’s annual Village Show took place on Sunday 17th September with lots of categories for produce and crafts for both children and adults, and lots of stalls and activities, finishing with the grand auction of produce. A huge 'thank you' to all the parents, staff and children who helped in so many different ways. We would like to congratulate the school on raising £918.47. We are delighted that pupils enter into the spirit of the show. Overall best in show junior section went to Alfie with his wonderful recycled model. Well done Alfie.

We are delighted to see links with our sister school in Morley, Perth, Australia. The school has created a secure YouTube channel for the children to upload recordings so that they can tell each other about themselves, and compare their schools, and we are looking into school-based text and email for communicating. Both schools have placed links to the other on their websites, and our school has created a page to enable their children to cheer ours on. It is all very exciting.

Last year’s academic year ended with a fantastic performance by the school choir at the Morley Gala, and since then we have seen continued involvement in some fabulous events that have been included in the school’s website events gallery.

Work Done by the Governing Body

A review of skills has taken place to ensure that the Governing Body is comprised of people who have the combined skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school and maintenance of its ethos and strategic direction. The full Governing Body meets once each half term, with an agenda which focuses on staffing, pupils, school improvement, standards and curriculum matters, finance, premises, health and safety; safeguarding. We also consider pupil discipline and staffing recruitment.

Named Governors have specific responsibility for one or more areas of school life. In this capacity they visit school to meet with their school staff link member to monitor the impact of school improvement policy (SIP) activities. These roles are directly linked to the key school improvement issues, as well as to those of Early Years, Special Educational Needs, Health and Safety and Child Protection. Individual responsibilities are shown below.

Governing Body meetings have been regular and busy. Six Full Governing Body meetings were held this year. Governors also held a Governor support meeting with the school advisor where we developed our understanding of all aspects of the academic year, in order to support the school more effectively. Governors also attended staff meetings, staff INSET on safeguarding and curriculum planning, and individual Governors visited the school in their monitoring capacity. Additional meetings were held to review and continually update the school self-evaluation. One of the roles for the Governors is reviewing and agreeing school policies. Governors have reviewed and updated many policies this year and have worked with the Headteacher and staff to complete an evidence grid for monitoring British Values. Policies are available on the school website.

Governors were pleased to welcome three new members to the Governing Body in November. These Governors are undertaking formal training to ensure that we are well prepared to support the school. We recognise the importance of training in equipping Governors for the complexities of education and changes to procedures and the ways teaching is delivered.

The Governors monitor the maintenance and development of the school premises and make decisions about the school budget. We produce an annual statement of financial control as required by the Local Authority. As with all schools, budgets are tight, but we are pleased to report that we continue to maintain a balanced budget with a small contingency carry over each year. The budget will continue to be reviewed throughout the academic year to ensure solvency and probity thereby ensuring our financial resources are being used effectively. The school budget, and Health and Safety practices have been closely monitored, and we thank Mrs Rhodes for her tireless commitment in these areas. We are delighted that the school is able to prioritise funding appropriately, and that everything is done to ensure children’s safety, as well as that of the staff and visitors alike.

Governors have a statutory duty for Safeguarding and Eileen Swan is our designated Child Protection and Safeguarding Governor. She delivers a termly report to the Governors about any safeguarding matters. An Annual report on Safeguarding is submitted to the Local authority. There have been no issues of concern.

The Governing Body has a duty to monitor our “vulnerable groups” of children and to focus on how the Pupil Premium Grant is being spent by the school and what impact this has on outcomes. Intervention strategies and their impact on pupil progress are monitored termly. Due to our small cohorts, this information is not published as it could identify individual pupils.

Key Issues faced by the Governing body during 2018

• Training and integration of three new Governors

• Reconstituting the governing body to meet the new government regulations

• Optimising strategic support and challenge to the school

• Ensuring that the curriculum prepares pupils for life in modern Britain

• Reviewing safeguarding and updating training

• Working with new clerical arrangements

These issues are recognised and are included in the Governing Body Action Plan.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our school staff who work so hard to ensure that all children receive the best experiences they can. As a result, standards are maintained and improved. Pupils are happy, safe and have a love of learning which is evident in their attitudes to learning, their classrooms, and their books. May we also take this opportunity to thank our school parents for the continued and unstinting support of your children which enables them to maximise their potential.

Future Plans

• Maintaining the standard of excellence in the school by providing focus of attention to areas identified for improvement while still monitoring and maintaining excellence in other areas.

• Ensuring the school is appropriately resourced and staff have access to a wide range of CPD, so that the skills of the teaching and support staff are exemplary.

• Ensure new Governors are appropriately inducted into the role, by providing training and support from the Derby and Derbyshire Governance Partnership, so that new Governors can integrate quickly and provide the best support to the school by asking challenging questions and offering appropriate advice.

• Develop governor interaction with parents and the wider community so that ideas and concerns can be investigated and actioned quickly and appropriately.

How you can contact the Governing Body

We would love to hear your views and opinions on our school. The school sends out an annual questionnaire, and you can complete the same questionnaire on line at ParentView on the school website and the OfSTED website. If you would like to discuss something in particular, please contact the Chair, or contact the school on Headteacher@morley.derbyshire.sch.uk, or contact the school office marked ‘for the attention of the Chair of Governors’. Also look out for us at school events!

We look forward to another amazing year in 2018-19!